Jackson Man Sentenced to Over 22 Years in Prison for Brandishing a Firearm During Convenience Store Robberies

Jackson, Miss.  – A Jackson man was sentenced to 274 months in federal prison for brandishing a firearm during two convenience store robberies.  He was also ordered to pay $5105 in restitution.

According to court documents and admissions during public court proceedings, Kenneth Edwards Lewis, Jr., 35, used a firearm during the commission of two convenience store robberies along with his co-defendant, Tramaine Jadell Pettaway, in January and February of 2018.  One store was in Clinton and the other was in Ridgeland.  The Ridgeland Police Department was able to arrest both Lewis and Pettaway after a short chase following the Ridgeland robbery.

Lewis and Pettaway, who has also pled guilty and is awaiting sentencing, have been in custody since February 2018.

U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.

The Ridgeland Police Department, the Clinton Police Department, and the FBI investigated the case.

Deputy Criminal Chief Lynn Murray and Assistant United States Attorney Charles Kirkham prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.